Tell me all about Des Moines (West Des Moines, Urbandale: apartments, rental, condo)
Des MoinesDallas, Guthrie, Madison, Polk, and Warren Counties
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My mother-in-law was born and raised in Iowa and really wants us to move to Des Moines. She lives in northern Iowa, but keeps telling my husband and I that this would be a good place to raise kids. We live in L.A. right now, but would like to live in an area that is safe, conservative, low cost of living, good schools, and has light traffic. My husband would work from home and I'll be a stay at home mom. We are considering Nashville, but she wants us to be close to her so that's why she suggested Des Moines. We are a very close family that's why I am considering moving to Iowa. Any info on Des Moines would be appreciated. Thanks
Des Moines is a hub of opportunity right now! I have traveled all over the United States and it truly is one of the nicest cities in the US. Not because of the weather (which can be rough) or the natural beauty; but because the people themselves are wonderful and the city planning and zoning is very good here compared to many other cities. I'm always impressed at how nice Des Moines' downtown is compared to other cities of similar size. I'm planning on moving out West, and I almost feel bad for wanting to do so. Des Moines is really starting to become a first class city with some great amenities.
Definitely a paradise compared to LA as far as raising families and affordability are concerned.
My mother-in-law was born and raised in Iowa and really wants us to move to Des Moines. She lives in northern Iowa, but keeps telling my husband and I that this would be a good place to raise kids. We live in L.A. right now, but would like to live in an area that is safe, conservative, low cost of living, good schools, and has light traffic. My husband would work from home and I'll be a stay at home mom. We are considering Nashville, but she wants us to be close to her so that's why she suggested Des Moines. We are a very close family that's why I am considering moving to Iowa. Any info on Des Moines would be appreciated. Thanks
Des Moines is everything you just mentioned above. I have been to LA many times and Des Moines is almost the exact opposite of LA. Only thing favorable about LA is the weather. If you do not like very cold winters, you may not like Iowa. Most of us who have lived here a while do not mind the weather. It is a great place to grow up, good schools, good jobs, and safe. The cost of living is probably the highest in Iowa, but is much cheaper than LA. We have lived in Des Moines several years and really like it.
We moved to West Des Moines in March from the Central Valley of California and we love it here. Check out the schools in Des Moines as well as the surrounding areas--I would suggest checking West Des Moines, Waukee, Johnston, Ankeny, and Urbandale. I am also posting the links to the two threads I started when we were considering our move to Iowa. There's some really great information in them.
As a disclaimer, we have also lived in Nashville for four years. If there had been a job opportunity in Nashville for my husband, we would have moved back there in a heartbeat. It's an amazing city!
Feel free to send me a message if there are any other questions I can answer for you! Best of luck!
My husband and I are also considering moving to Des Moines from St Louis. I am looking for a great urban neighborhood. Any suggestions? How is downtown living?
My husband and I are also considering moving to Des Moines from St Louis. I am looking for a great urban neighborhood. Any suggestions? How is downtown living?
I just moved back and I can't believe how far downtown has come. Check out the East Village or Sherman Hill.
Looks like a lot of people are headed to Iowa! I just found out yesterday I may be on that bus to Des Moines too. Long term contract job in west des moines from Minneapolis. Any thoughts on good apartment or condo rental properties?
Any recommendations on good churches in the area? We're born-again Christians. Thanks!
I lived in Des Moines in 2000 through 2002 and left due to a job change, but overall we really enjoyed our experience there. In general, it does an impression of a much larger city than it really is, with all of the restaurants and the skyline downtown. Crime is pretty moderate, compared to cities with similar populations and overall we had a good experience.
WHAT WE LIKED:
>Court Avenue district. This was an area that was really trying hard to be vibrant at the time. (I cannot attest to it now) They had several nice restaurants and clubs, as well as Saturday night concerts on the block. Most restaurants had outdoor dining areas as well during the warmer months. Restaurant choices in general were a big plus for my wife and I. You had many typical chain restaurants, but also plenty of local favorites.
>Attractive downtown overall. Some of the area was under renovation, but overall the combination of modern buildings with some attractive plazas and modern artwork indicated "ON THE RISE," rather than "DECLINING and old."
>People. In my experience, it was fairly easy to make friends and most strangers were polite and friendly as well. We are not "club-hopper" types, but we did enjoy going out on the weekends. Most people seemed to be having fun and often we would enjoy meeting new people who became friends over time.
>Moderate cost of living. East side of DM metro area is older, but there are still nice neighborhoods in there. West side of metro is more high end and modern, but very nice apartments and houses. West side had it's own burgeoning nightlife and coffee house/restaurant area. A few nice little pockets in Mt. Pleasant and southern part of DM too for general living. At the time, a decent 2 bedroom apartment ran an average of $200-$300 less than in Ft Myers, Fl, for instance and was probably in a much safer neighborhood.
>Skywalk system downtown. Climate controlled so you didn't spend as much time sweating or freezing when going from building to building. Easy access to parking ramps too. They were patrolled and had security cams so we never felt unsafe.
>Sporting events. Farm teams for Baseball, plus hockey, basketball and other events. Nice stadium near downtown too.
>Overall safer feeling than many cities we've been in of this size. This is NOT to say it is COMPLETELY devoid of crime, but in OUR experiences, there was not nearly as much as other places we've been familiar with.
WHAT WE DID NOT LIKE:
>COLD WINDY WINTERS and HOT SUMMERS. Plus it always seemed like there
were tornadoes or nasty thunderstorms. Weather seemed to change VERY abruptly. Much of the really nasty stuff would be at odd times, like 5AM or before NOON too.
>Although the Racoon and Des Moines rivers flow right through the heart of the city, it is a bit of a drive to find a NATURAL-looking lake. Big Creek Park was nice. Sailorville Lake is large, but looked like somebody just built a dam at one end of a deep ditch and filled it up with water. We missed the natural water. Ofcourse, Des Moines has also had it's share of flood problems a few times in the past 20 years.
>Some areas were rather poorly zoned or maintained. What that meant was you might have a nice well-maintained home, but the house next door would be a peeling eyesore. There were some very inconsistant parts of town, particularly on the east side. They were not necessarily "sketchy" neighborhoods for crime either. It just appeared to be very hit and miss.
>There was also a general vibe by the time we left that crime due to meth labs and other gang/drug-issues was on the rise. There were some parts of town that were "ok" when we moved to Des Moines that were very "suspect" just two years later.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
******************I hope the above info helps somewhat. Overall I would DEFINITELY recommend DM as a good place to live. There was plenty for us to do and we like the proximity to Kansas City, Omaha, and Minneapolis as well. Des Moines is sometimes a very UNDER-APPRECIATED city. I've lived around a bit more than some people. Des Moines is not as "exciting" as a Chicago or DC, but it is nowhere near as big either. It also didn't have the DAILY laundry list of shootings, rapes, muggings, carjackings and generally thuggery found in those cities. If you are looking for a place where most people like to work hard, and then spend time with their families....DES MOINES is a GOOD PLACE to live and raise a family.
The climate controlled skywalk system is one of the best kept secrets of DSM in my opinion. You can easily spend a whole day if not a weekend visiting the shops and malls and what not. All without stepping a foot outside! It's a fun family activity especially in the winter when the weather sucks outside.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
